Glendale Transit Project Advances with $368K Final Design Contract

A new transit center serving bus riders in north Glendale is expected to open in mid-November at Arrowhead Towne Center Mall, according to a project schedule outlined by city officials.

Construction on the facility on the mall’s north side is slated to start June 1. The timetable is part of a contract with Phoenix-based Dick & Fritsche Design Group, Inc., approved by the City Council Jan. 27 for the project’s final design.

The contract will pay DFDG $368,784 and is fully funded through a Federal Transportation Administration grant.

The new transit center will feature a covered passenger waiting areas and a pullout the buses can use to drop off and pick up passengers without blocking traffic along the mall’s parking lot circulator road. A ticket-vending machine is also being considered, Albert told the council during the earlier session.

The current curb would be recessed farther to create the pullout, she explained.

Construction costs have yet to be finalized. The overall price tag of the two projects will be shared roughly 72 percent by the federal government, 16 percent by the Regional Public Transportation Authority and 12 percent by the city.

Glendale will eventually enter a licensing agreement with Macerich for the transit center property, which is part of the mall. Albert said that agreement will require future council approval.

A final design contract for the park-and-ride facility is expected to be approved early this year, with a construction firm hired late this year. The facility is expected to open in December 2016.